Scaper blade having adjustable section

ABSTRACT

A blade, especially for tractor scrapers, having a movable section which may be extended to increase the local penetration of the cutting edge. An adjustment mechanism is operable to extend or retract the section as required by ground conditions. In one embodiment this is a threaded actuator which is turned to manually adjust the section. In another, it is an hydraulic cylinder which may be operated from the cab of the machine to project or retract the section.

United States Patent 1 1 Hancock [451 July 29,1975

1 1 ,SCAPER BLADE HAVING ADJUSTABLE SECTION [75] Inventor: James E.Hancock, Lubbock, Tex.

[73] Assignee: Clark Equipment Company,

Buchanan, Mich.

22 Filed: Feb. 8, 1974 21 Appl No.:440,885

[52} [1.8. CI. 37/141 R; 37/124; 37/141 T [51] Int. Cl E02f 9/28 [58]Field of Search 37/141 R, 141 T, 142 R, 37/142 A, 124, 126

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,885,326 11/1932 Brune37/141 T 2,584,868 2/1952 Guess 37/142 R 2,828,558 4/1958 Reinhard....37/141 T 3,145,488 8/1964 French 37/141 R 3,272,559 9/1966 Haynes 37/141R X 3,500,562 3/1970 Reinhard 37/141 R 3,645,021 2/1972 Sunerud 37/141 T3,795,070 3/1974 Bronson 37/141 R X FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS103,025 l/l917 United Kingdom 37/142 R Primary Examin'erE. H. EickholtAttorney, Agent, or Firm.lack E. Toliver [57] ABSTRACT A blade,especially for tractor scrapers, having a movable section which may beextended to increase the local penetration of the cutting edge. Anadjustment mechanism is operable to extend or retract the section asrequired by ground conditions. In one embodiment this is a threadedactuator which is turned to manually adjust the section. In another, itis an hydraulic cylinder which may be operated from the cab of themachine to project or retract the section.

4 Claims, 4 Drawing Figures SCAPER BLADE HAVING ADJUSTABLE SECTIONBACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The inventionpertains to the art of mobile earth working machines and moreparticularly to selfpropelled, elevating tractor scrapers.

2. Description of the Prior Art It is not uncommon for tractor scrapersto work in hard clay or rocky soils which resist penetration of theblade. This considerably reduces the digging efficiency of the elevator.Blades with a solid, fixed portion protruding beyond the cutting edgeincrease the penetrating power in hard clay and assist in breaking upthe soil beneath the elevator. Such blade protrusions or extensions willvary depending on the type of soil. A relatively sharp tooth-likeprojection may be used for ripping up roots and over-turning bolders,whereas a single wide-blade projection will be used in moist, heavy clayor compact soil.

No single blade is suitable in all types of soil, nor is it usuallyconvenient to change blades in practice since each blade or bladesection requires numerous bolts for securing it to the blade frame. As aresult, it is normal practice to anticpate the type of ground conditionsexisting at the job site and install a blade at the garage having thedesired configuration suited for the terrain. However, this often leadsof inefficiency where some local soil conditions are unfavorable to theblade section installed. For example, if the blade has been outfittedwith a narrow chisel for ripping, then patches of sandy soil would notbe loaded with maximum efficiency.

A US. application Ser. No. 299,992 by J. E. Hancock filed Oct. 24, 1972is assigned to the assignee of the present invention and describes atype of adjustable blade which can be changed in the field to suitactual ground conditions, but there is no actuator to make theadjustment mechanically.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION A blade has an adjustable section which ismounted on a shiftable plate or platform. In the rear most position, ofthe platform, the section is retracted with the edge being continuouswith the cutting edge of the blade. An actuator is connected to theshiftable platform which may be operated by either manual or poweredmeans to slide the platform out and thereby extend the portion of theedge on the adjustable section.

In the application of the invention on a tractor scraper, the bladeplatform is supported on a blade frame fixed between the walls of thescraper. A plurality of spaced, longitudinally extending runnersunderneath the platform slide on an upper, inclined suface of the bladeframe. Guide ribs secured to the frame extend transversely between therunners. An actuator is connected to the platform and operates to extendor retract the blade platform.

In the preferred embodiment, screw and nut devices are turned to extendor retract the blade platform.

In another embodiment, the actuator is one or more hydraulic cylindersconnected by hydraulic lines to a pump driven off of the tractor engineand controlled by a valve from the tractor cab.

Where the adjustable blade section is one or more narrow chisel teeth, asingle actuator is associated with each chisel.

One of the main advantages of the invention is a blade having anadjustable section which can be quickly adjusted to accommodate varyingground conditions by using an actuator.

Another advantage is that blade adjustments can be made more frequentlyby hand or, if desired, without the operator leaving the cab using apowered actuator.

While these advantages are especially related to earth moving scrapers,other machines utilizing a blade, bucket or cutting edge for diggingwill be able to use the invention where otherwise frequent changes ofblade shapes would be required.

These and other advantages will be more apparent by reference to thefollowing detailed description of the invention which proceeds with adescription of the drawings wherein:

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT FIG.I shows a two-wheeled, over-hung tractor l0 towing a two-wheeled scraper12. The scraper 12 has a pair of arms 13 connected at the forward endsof the scraper side walls 14. The arms 13 are joined by a cross beam 15at the front. A yoke 16 is attached to the cross beam and extendsforwardly for mounting on a kingpin coupling 18. A pair of steeringjacks 20, one on each side of the yoke, is controlled by a steeringvalve (not shown) operated by the steering wheel 22 of the tractor forproducing the turning movements of the tractor relative to the scraperabout the vertical steering axis of I the kingpin coupling 18. Thetractor l0 steers by turn ing relative to the scraper on the steeringaxis as the jacks 20 are extended on one side and retracted on theother. The tractor is supported on wheels 25 and the scraper on wheels26. The scraper side walls 14 define an open bowl having an ejectionmechanism (not shown). An end gate, the upper portion of which is shown,is pushed by the ejection mechanism to expel] dirt through the bottom ofthe bowl. A rolling door 38 closes an opening in the bottom of the bowlthrough which the dirt is dumped. In front of the rolling door 38, fixedto the scraper side walls, is a scraper blade 30 mounted betweenmoldboards 31. An elevator 32 inclines downwardly at the front of thebowl. The elevator is comprised of a plurality of chain driven drags orflights 33 which strike the ground when the blade 30 is lowered fordigging and assists in loading dirt into the bowl as each flight passesaround the foot shaft of the elevator counterclockwise as view inFIG. 1. A pair of lift cylinders 35, one on each side of the yoke 16, isattached at the lower end of the cylinders to the mold boards 31 and atthe upper end to the cross beam 15. The cylinders 35 are controlled fromthe cab of the tractor and may be extended to lower or retracted toraise the bowl.

Referring now to FIG. 2, the blade includes an adjustable section 40. Inthe present embodiment, it comprises a relatively wide center section ofthe blade, flanked on either side by stationery blade sections (notshown), but forming with the adjustable section 40, a continuous cuttingedge 42 extending substantially across the front of the scraper. A bladeframe 43 is secured between the mold boards 31, usually by weldingaround the periphery at each end, such that it provides a solid, upperinclined surface 45 for supporting the blade 30. The adjustable section40, is considered to include a slidable platform 44 on which is boltedreplaceable blade elements 46. As seen in FIG. 3 the blade platform 44includes an upper plate or deck 48 supported from underneath by aplurality of spaced runners 49, each of which has a web 50 joined at itsupper and lower ends by flanges 51. The upper flanges 51 are secured tothe underside of the plate 48 while the lower flanges 51 are free toslide on the upper surface 45 of the blade frame 43. Guide ribs 55spaced longitudinally of the support beams 49 are secured to the uppersurface 45 of the blade frame. The opposite ends of each guide ribs 55are tapered (FIG. 3) to provide parallel guide paths for the supportbeams 49. As can be seen in FIG. 3, the tapered ends of the ribs overliethe lower flanges 51 of the support runners preventing the bladeplatform structure from being lifted off of the blade frame 43. Thus asliding motion is permitted relative to the blade frame. The guide ribsare located at intervals along the sliding path of the runners so as toguide the blade platform as it is being extended or retracted.

According to the preferred embodiment of the invention an adjustmentmechanism is provided for extending and retracting the adjustablesection 40 which includes a plurality of nut and screw actuators 62mounted on the upper surface of the blade frame behind the bladeplatform 44. Each nut and screw actuator 62 includes a relatively long,threaded screw 63 which is threaded in a nut 64 secured to the bladeframe. A cylindrical collar 65 of the screw 63 below the nut 64 has anumber of drilled holes 66 for accommodating a spanner wrench to be usedin turning the screw. A swivel bearing 68 is mounted at the lower end ofthe screw to permit turning and is secured in a cup 67 attached to theupper end of the runner 49. A jamb nut 70 is loosened to permit thescrew 63 to be advanced or retracted through the nut 62 after which thejamb nut is retightened.

It will be appreciated that the adjustment mechanism 60 provides aneffective and efficient means for adjusting the whole digging section.In the preferred embodiment, the adjustable section comprises arelatively wide portion of the blade and therefore a plurality of screwand nut actuators 62 are emloyed. The operator need only insert thespanner wrench in the holes 66, loosen the jarnb nut 70, and turn thescrew 63 of each actuator 62, adjusting each to the same length, toobtain the desired penetration of the blade. Where the adjustablesection isa narrow chisel, it will be satisfactory to have only onescrew and nut actuator for each chisel.

ANOTHER EMBODIMENT OF THE INVENTION Referring now to FIG. 4, whereinparts similar to those shown in FIGS. 2 and 3 are identified using thesame numerals with a letter suffix, the blade 30a has an adjustablesection 400. A replaceable blade element 46a defines a cutting edge 42a.In this embodiment, the blade frame is omitted. While it would beutilized on a scraper, other structures may not employ such a frame,e.g., a digging bucket for an end loader, thus the embodiment in FIG. 4is intended for more general application. Specifically, the embodimentin FIG. 4 is intended for application where more frequent bladeadjustment is required and, in that case, remote operation of the bladesection is desirable by means of a powered actuator.

In FIG. 4, one or more hydraulic cylinders is protected by a stationaryplate 76. The rod end of the cylinder 75 is connected to the rear end ofthe blade platform 44a and, with the blade in the extended positions asshown in FIG. 4, the cylinder rod is protected by a dirt shield 78 whichslides out from beneath the stationary plate 76 and is retracted beneathit when the blade section is retracted. The cylinder 75 is connected bya valve 78 to a pump 79. Hydraulic fluid is supplied to the pump from areservoir 80. By actuating the valve 78, the operator may extend orretract the cylinder by any amount desired, thus changing theconfiguration of the cutting edge 42a without having to leave the cab ofthe machine.

While alternate embodiments of my invention have been disclosed, it willbe understood that these descriptions are for purposes of illustrationonly and that various' modifications and changes can be made to myinvention without departing from the spirit and scope of it. Therefore,the limits of my invention should be determined from the followingappended claims.

I claim:

1. ln mobile earth moving equipment including apparat'us for raising andlowering a blade device having a cutting edge adapted to be lowered tothe ground for digging, the improvement comprising an adjustable sectionforming a portion of the cutting edge and defining a substantiallycontinuous edge in one position and a projected edge for increasinglocal penetration in another position, said adjustable sectioncomprising a shiftable element mounting said cutting edge portion, anactuator attached to the shiftable element operable for moving itbetween said positions and means for guiding the shiftable elementincluding a blade frame fixed on the equipment, said blade frame havingan upper, downwardly inclined surface, spaced runners supporting saidshiftable element on the upper surface of the blade frame andtransversely extending guide ribs between said runners for guiding saidshiftable element in a path parallel to the inclined surface of theblade frame.

2. In a mobile scraper having a dirt collecting bowl defined by sidewalls, a floor and end wall, being open at' the front, a scraper bladefixed between the side walls at the lower front portion thereof andinclining forwardly to a cutting edge adapted to be lowered to theground for digging, said scraper blade comprising a blade frame securedbetween the side walls having a forwardly inclined upper surface, aplurality of blade sections mounted on the upper surface of the bladeframe in side-by-side relationship defining a substantially continuousupper surface with the forward ends thereof defining a substantiallycontinuous cutting edge, one of said blade sections being movablebetween a retracted position and an extended position for inthe actuatorincludes a threaded element connected to the movable blade section, anut mounted on the blade frame through which the threaded elementextends and means for manually turning the threaded element forextending or retracting in the movable blade section.

4. The improvement according to claim 2 wherein the actuator includes adouble-acting hydraulic cylinder connected between the movable bladesection and blade frame which may be operated for extending orretracting the blade section.

1. In mobile earth moving equipment including apparatus for raising andlowering a blade device having a cutting edge adapted to be lowered tothe ground for digging, the improvement comprising an adjustable sectionforming a portion of the cutting edge and defining a substantiallycontinuous edge in one position and a projected edge for increasinglocal penetration in another position, said adjustable sectioncomprising a shiftable element mounting said cutting edge portion, anactuator attached to the shiftable element operable for moving itbetween said positions and means for guiding the shiftable elementincluding a blade frame fixed on the equipment, said blade frame havingan upper, downwardly inclined surface, spaced runners supporting saidshiftable element on the upper surface of the blade frame andtransversely extending guide ribs between said runners for guiding saidshiftable element in a path parallel to the inclined surface of theblade frame.
 2. In a mobile scraper having a dirt collecting bowldefined by side walls, a floor and end wall, being open at the front, ascraper blade fixed between the side walls at the lower front portionthereof and inclining forwardly to a cutting edge adapted to be loweredto the ground for digging, said scraper blade comprising a blade framesecured between the side walls having a forwardly inclined uppersurface, a plurality of blade sections mounted on the upper surface ofthe blade frame in side-by-side relationship defining a substantiallycontinuous upper surface with the forward ends thereof defining asubstantially continuous cutting edge, one of said blade sections beingmovable between a retracted position and an extended position forincreasing the local penetrating power of the cutting edge, theimprovement comprising a shiftable blade platform supporting saidmovable blade section on the blade frame including, spaced,longitudinally extending runners slidable on the upper surface of theblade frame, transversely extending guide ribs attached to the bladeframe and extending laterally between the runners defining parallelguide paths, and an actuator attached to the blade frame operable forextending or retracting said blade section.
 3. The improvement accordingto claim 2 wherein the actuator includes a threaded element connected tothe movable blade section, a nut mounted on the blade frame throughwhich the threaded element extends and means for manually turning thethreaded element for extending or retracting in the movable bladesection.
 4. The improvement according to claim 2 wherein the actuatorincludes a double-acting hydraulic cylinder connected between themovable blade section and blade frame which may be operated forextending or retracting the blade section.